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More gender-based violence reported amid more progressive regulations
More sexual violence against women cases were reported last year following the passing of stronger regulations, a study by Komnas Perempuan has found.
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A group of women waves to House of Representatives lawmakers who passed the sexual violence bill into law during a plenary session in Jakarta on April 12, 2022. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
M
ore cases of sexual violence against women were reported last year following the passing of stronger regulations, a study by the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has found.
Komnas Perempuan said that reports of sexual harassment cases had increased in 2022, as more people were made aware of the issue.
The study, which compiled data from partner organizations throughout the country, recorded 632 sexual assaultt cases in private spaces reported by the victims. The number of reports increased from 374 reported cases in 2021, and 220 in 2020.
"The provisions of victim protection in the Eradication of Sexual Violence Law and the ministerial regulation has given confidence to people to have the courage to report their cases," Komnas Perempuan commissioner Theresia Iswarini said on Tuesday.
In April 2022, all but one House of Representatives factions, the exception being the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), agreed to pass the long-awaited sexual violence bill into law. The Eradication of Sexual Violence Law provides a comprehensive legal framework for dealing with sexual violence, including provisions for protecting the victims and restraining orders on alleged perpetrators.
The sexual violence bill had been on and off the table at the House since Komnas Perempuan lobbied lawmakers to endorse the bill in 2012 in response to the rise in sexual assault cases in the country.
It gained further prominence in 2016, when activists called for the acceleration of the bill’s passage in response to the shocking gang rape and murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl by 14 drunk men in Bengkulu.
